Employment tribunal fee refund scheme opens

The Government has launched the first stage of a refund scheme for employment tribunal fees, following the Supreme Court’s judgment in R (on the application of UNISON) v Lord Chancellor (Brief 1075) on 26 July 2017 that the fees regime was unlawful. The opening phase of the scheme will last for four weeks and full details of the scheme will be made available when it is fully rolled out.

A press release from the Ministry of Justice and HM Courts and Tribunals Service states that, at this initial stage, up to around 1,000 people will be contacted individually from today and given the chance to apply for a refund before the full scheme is opened up in the coming weeks. The MoJ and HMCTS are also working with trade unions in relation to large multiple claims. The press release goes on to clarify that successful applicants will be paid interest of 0.5%, calculated from the date of the original fee payment up until the refund date.